Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos on Tuesday congratulated the captain of Greek frigate Limnos that accidentally collided with Turkish frigate Kemal Reis during a standoff in the eastern Mediterranean last week.
According to tovimaonline, Minister Panagiotopoulos contacted Limnos Commander Ioannis Salaris via radio and congratulated him for his professionalism. “You’re a tough guy, Mr Commander, congratulations,” the minister said.
During their brief talk, Commander Ioannis Salaries reportedly told the minister that he had done his duty.
The call to the commander of frigate Limnos officially confirms the incident that was actually denied by the Greek General Staff.
The incident occurred on August 12, when the Turkish seismic survey vessel Oruc Reis survey ship was sailing between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete. The Oruc Reis was accompanied by Turkish warships, while a number of Greek frigates were monitoring the situation on the Greek continental shelf.
The Limnos was sailing near the Oruc Reis when it came into the path of one of the Turkish naval escorts, the Kemalreis frigate.
The Greek frigate maneuvered to avoid a head-on collision and in the process its bow touched the rear of the Turkish frigate that suffered some damage.
After the incident, frigate Limnos joined the Greek-French naval exercise south of Crete.
